1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to multimedia streaming, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for improving the adaptive bit rate behavior of a streaming media player.
2. Description of the Related Art
Media streaming is generally made available in multiple bit rates to serve clients of different capabilities and bandwidths. A media player processes the content at the best possible bit rate under the prevailing conditions. Generally, media players have a one-to-one connection to an origin server where the source content resides, and hence, all streams are fetched from the same server. The media player will start downloading content at a particular bit rate which is determined randomly or is the lowest bit rate available. The media player monitors a throughput obtained at this bit rate and makes a determination whether to switch to a higher or a lower bit rate based on the throughput. This determination is made based on the assumption that the throughput obtained for a particular stream is equal to a bandwidth for that connection and therefore, that other bit rate streams would have the same throughput. This assumption holds true when streams of various bit rates had to be fetched from the same server, for example, in connection-oriented protocols like Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) and Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP). However, this assumption does not hold true for connection-less protocols, like HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus for improving the adaptive bit rate behavior of a streaming media player.